Ares Strategic Mining Inc. officially opened its Fluorspar Lumps Plant in Delta, Utah, on Friday, October 9, 2026, marking the return of commercial fluorspar production to the United States for the first time since 1995. The plant processes raw fluorspar from the company's fully permitted Lost Sheep Mine into metallurgical-grade lumps, an essential ingredient for steel and aluminum production. The opening establishes Ares as a vertically integrated company controlling the critical mineral from the ground to market-ready forms, a significant shift for a nation that has been 100% reliant on foreign fluorspar imports for over three decades.
The ceremony drew state and federal congressional representatives, key regional and local stakeholders, including the Delta City Council, the entire Ares and Provo Mining teams, and local Delta families, as seen in photos from the event. U.S. Representative Mike Kennedy delivered the keynote address, underscoring federal commitment to reshoring industries like fluorspar. "The Federal government is committed to helping great people, like Ares, who are re-domesticating industries like fluorspar that we've put to the side for decades, and who are actually making our country more secure," Kennedy said. He noted that the State of Utah supported Ares with an $11 million loan. "Working together, both State and Federal, we can make our country more secure, stable and prosperous."
The implications extend beyond regional economic development. Fluorspar is a critical mineral used in steel and aluminum production, and increasingly in electric vehicle batteries, semiconductors, and technology applications. By restarting domestic production, Ares reduces U.S. dependence on foreign supply chains for a material essential to national security and industrial resilience. The company already holds a $168.9m contract from the U.S. Department of Defense for its future acidspar product, highlighting the strategic importance of its operations. Ares also maintains a signed Memorandum of Understanding with global commodities trader Cremer Erzkontor Inc. to distribute its metspar product across North America.
The Lumps Plant has an annual capacity of 165,347 tons, and with current metspar prices between $350 and $520 per metric ton, potential gross product value exceeds $25 million annually, signaling Ares' transition into revenue generation. The facility sits on a fully owned 50-acre site off Highway 6 in Delta, Utah, with a footprint of approximately 7 acres. The company aims to expand its Delta operations with a complementary Acidspar Flotation Plant, for which machinery is already on site and construction has commenced. Once both plants are operational, Ares can shift between producing metspar for steel and aluminum industries and acidspar for EV batteries, semiconductors, and technology applications.
The Lumps Plant will initially be fed by ore from the Lost Sheep Mine, which represents just one of the company's 353 claims in the district. Recent geophysical surveys confirmed 49 additional preliminary fluorspar targets near the mine's existing infrastructure, and the company intends to continue supplying both plants from these surrounding claims. Furthermore, Ares is collaborating with Found Industries to recover gallium, germanium, and other strategic critical materials from its feedstocks. Peter Godart, President and CEO of Found Industries, commented, "There's a new American industrial base hiding in plain sight. Metals like gallium, germanium and indium are essential to our energy, communications, space and defense industries. Ares is building a domestic supply chain for fluorspar and in doing so is creating an opportunity to recover other critical metals from the same resource."
The Spor Mountain district once supplied fluorspar to industry for more than eighty years before cheaper foreign imports caused domestic production to cease. Ares is reviving that legacy, mining the Spor Mountain, trucking ore to Delta, and processing it on site. The opening ceremony also highlighted the support of technical and operational partners, including KC Harvey and Aspect Engineering, and the dedication of Provo Mining & Construction. As James Walker, CEO of Ares, stated, "Ares was built on a simple idea: become the leading fluorspar mining company in North America and return fluorspar manufacturing to the U.S. Opening this plant is the start of that realization." With this milestone, Ares Strategic Mining is positioned to become a significant domestic supplier of fluorspar, bolstering U.S. industrial and defense supply chains.
